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VR Minecraft released for Samsung Gear

VR Minecraft has made its entrance into the market, after being released on the Oculus store for $6.99. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 7 years, you will be familiar with Mojang’s block-building game that has taken the world by storm.

The mobile version of the game makes use of the Samsung Galaxy’s display with the Gear headset, with the game being played through the use of a Bluetooth controller – because for most people it is reasonably difficult to use a touchscreen with your eyeballs. However, the developers have also announced an Oculus version for the PC coming later this year.

The gameplay puts the player in the first person perspective of their character, but also offers the ability to drop back into a simulated lounge. Here the player can play via a simulated screen to take the recommended breaks from VR to avoid any motion sickness or disorientation.

The Gear VR version is the ‘pocket version’ of Minecraft, and supports creative and survival modes, as well as supporting skins and multiplayer.

Despite the far from photo-realistic graphics in VR Minecraft, the VR experience really adds a deeper sense of atmosphere and scale in the world. As put by the chief developer at Oculus, John Cormack “Minecraft is a game that you can both figuratively and literally lose yourself in”.

“Experiencing it in virtual reality changes it from an abstract activity to a visceral one — it goes from a sense of playing the game to one of being inside your world, and spinning around to find a creeper sneaking up on you leaves a powerful impression. Infinite worlds have been explored, shaped, and shared by millions of people, and now in VR; that sounds a bit like the fabled Metaverse.”

With the massive cult following that the Minecraft franchise has, the arrival of VR Minecraft could provide a nice push to the VR market, and encourage other titles to follow suit. In the meantime try not to squeal too loud when you hear that ‘HISSSS’ …

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